Diaphragmatic Breathing: Techniques and Instructions
Diaphragmatic breathing 24/7 is necessary for ideal oxygenation of the arterial blood (about 98-99%) and efficient lymphatic drainage of abdominal organs (up to 60% of all lymph nodes are located just under the diaphragm).
Ideal automatic
breathing pattern at rest is very light, but mainly abdominal (diaphragmatic
breathing). Such small diaphragmatic breathing increases oxygenation of
the human body. Yoga masters and few other exceptional people have only 3 small
diaphragmatic breaths per minute at rest (unconscious breathing). This
corresponds to about 3 minutes for the body oxygen test and over 8 minutes for
maximum breath holding time.
When
we breathe more than the medical norm at rest (that is only 12 small diaphragmatic breaths per
minute with about 500 ml for one breath), it is called hyperventilation. If deep
diaphragmatic breathing causes CO2 losses, it is called "hyperventilation".
Hyperventilation or deep diaphragmatic breathing reduces oxygen delivery to all vital organs in the human body.
Note that sick people breathe about 2-3 times more than the medical norm and
suffer from low CO2 in the lungs and reduced O2 levels in body cells (see links
below).
On this page you will find diaphragmatic breathing exercises and techniques, but let's begin with a simple test for diaphragmatic breathing and the cause of chest breathing in modern people.
How to test your own breathing technique
How
to check one's predominant automatic breathing technique? Do you
usually breathe using the belly and diaphragm or chest at rest?
Self-test or simple breathing exercise. Put one hand on your stomach (or abdomen) and the other one on your upper chest (see the picture on the right). Relax completely so that your breathing dynamic has little changes. (We want to know more about your usual unconscious breathing.) Pay attention to your breathing for about 20-30 seconds. Take 2-3 very slow but deep breaths to feel your breathing in more detail.
Now you know about your usual breathing technique. In order to be certain, you can ask other people to observe how you breathe when you do not pay attention to your breathing (e.g., during sleep, while reading, studying, etc.).
Diaphragmatic breathing exercises and techniques
Here are three abdominal breathing exercises to test and develop diaphragmatic breathing.
Exercise 1. Diaphragmatic breathing exercise to check your ability to move the diaphragm
Diaphragmatic breathing exercise 1: Check your ability to move the diaphragm. Put your hands on your body as in the picture above. Try to push out your lower hand (which is on the belly button or navel) with your abdominal muscles. Can you breathe using your belly only so that your rib cage and upper hand do not move?
Warning. It is vital for
your health, abdominal breathing, good blood oxygenation, and
respiratory and GI health to have a straight spine 24/7. Correct
posture encourages abdominal breathing, while slouching prevents belly
breathing.
Exercise 2. Abdominal respiratory exercises with books
Take
2-3 medium weight books or one large phone book and lie down on your
back with the books on your tummy. Focus on your breathing and change
the way you breathe so that
1) you can lift the books up about 2-3 cm (1 inch) with each inhalation
and then relax to exhale (the books will go down);
2) your rib cage does not expand during inhalations.
Repeat this diaphragmatic breathing exercise for about 3-5 minutes before your main breathing exercises to reconnect your conscious brain with the diaphragm. You can practice this exercise for some days until you are sure that diaphragmatic breathing is the usual way to breathe during the breathing sessions.
For some people with persistently tense diaphragms, who in addition have problems with slouching and constipation, magnesium can be an additional assisting factor. (Lack of magnesium leads to spasm and tension in body muscles.)
If the diaphragm is still not the main muscle for your automatic breathing, and/or you have doubts about your ability to keep your chest relaxed during breathing exercises, apply this ultimate solution.
Exercise 3. Diaphragmatic breathing technique with a belt
You can use a strong belt to
restrict your rib cage and
“force” the diaphragm to be the main breathing muscle using the
following technique.
Put a belt around your lower ribs (in the middle of the trunk) and buckle it tightly so that you cannot take a deep inhalation using your rib cage or chest. Now for slow deep inhalations your body needs to use your tummy (or abdomen). Try it. While leaving the belt in place for some minutes or even hours, you can acquire diaphragmatic breathing and corresponding sensations.
This breathing retraining process will be faster, if you focus your attention on your breathing and try to practice Buteyko reduced breathing with very light air hunger (taking small inhalations using your diaphragm and then immediately relaxing it). The focus of attention makes nervous links between your conscious mind and the diaphragm reinforced so that you can regain control of this muscle.
When you pay attention to your breathing, be careful not to hyperventilate. Breathe slowly and remain relaxed so that even if your inhalations deepen, your CO2 will not lessen.
Important note.
The diets of modern people are
low in magnesium, which is a known relaxant of
smooth muscles, the diaphragm included. The normal daily requirement
for Mg
is about 400-500 mg. Typical symptoms of magnesium deficiency include:
a tendency to slouch (indicating muscular tension), predisposition to
constipation (muscles of the bowel also get into a state of spasm;
hence "Milk of magnesia"
or magnesium oxide is a popular and safe remedy for constipation) and tense
diaphragm causing chest breathing 24/7. Try taking a Mg
supplement
(about 400-500 mg daily plus calcium to maintain balance) for 3
days and monitor your symptoms and any effects on your posture,
breathing mechanics and CP. (See more about this 3-day test in the
manual
Major Nutrients
Guide for higher Body Oxygen Levels.)
You need to restore a light and easy automatic breathing pattern or normalize your breathing in order to have abdominal breathing 24/7. What are the most effective abdominal breathing techniques? Hatha yoga and the Buteyko breathing technique help to prevent chest breathing. There are even more effective ways.
Advanced diaphragmatic breathing exercises for unblocking the diaphragm
The easiest way, however, to increase the CP and release or unblock the diaphragm 24/7 is to use breathing devices, such as the Frolov breathing device and the Amazing DIY breathing deice. If one has problems with abdominal breathing when using these devices, it is smart to use the belt technique for breathwork. After a few days of such practice, most people can easily involve diaphragm for breathwork.
Why modern people do not have diaphragmatic breathing
Modern people breathe about 2 times more air than the medical norm (see Homepage for details). Hyperventilation causes alveolar hypocapnia (CO2 deficiency), which reduces blood flow and oxygenation of the diaphragm muscle, while arterial hypocapnia makes smooth and skeletal muscles tense, the diaphragm included. If you were to take a close look at some old movies, you would hardly see any chest breathing at all. This is because people in the past had only 4-5 L/min for minute ventilation at rest (modern numbers are about 12 L/min for normal subjects). Hyperventilation makes modern people oxygen deficient (see instructions for the body oxygen test below) and this makes them chest breathers. Therefore, diaphragmatic breathing is very rare these days.
Diaphragmatic Breathing vs. Chest Breathing
and Body Oxygen Content
| Body Oxygen Content | Automatic breathing at rest: diaphragmatic or chest? |
| 1-10 s | Virtually always chest |
| 11-20 s | Chest in over 90% of people |
| 21-30 s | Mostly chest |
| 31-40 s | Mostly belly |
| over 41 s | Virtually always belly |
As
we see from this Table, diaphragmatic breathing usually becomes the
norm (24/7), when the morning body oxygen level (CP) is over 30 s. It
is logical then that people in the past (about 100 years ago or more)
had abdominal breathing 24/7 because they had more than 40 s for the
body oxygen test. Since relatively healthy people have only about 20-25
s CP these days, most of them are chest breathers.
YouTube Video: Why Modern People Do Not Have Diaphragmatic Breathing
Link to this video: Why Modern People Do Not Have Diaphragmatic Breathing
Relevant web pages
Diaphragm Function
(What are the main jobs of the diaphragm in the human body)
Why most modern people do not have diaphragmatic breathing
(Article - Causes of chest breathing in modern people)
Why breathing
should be mainly diaphragmatic at rest (There are 2
fundamental physiological reasons why chest breathing produces
devastating health effects)
Why normal breathing
is shallow (or light and easy) (i.e., small in tidal volume)
References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion
(or blood
supply) to all vital organs
The Bohr effect
How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
Cell Oxygen Levels and oxygen transport are controlled by
alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on
breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr
effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2
content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes
place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence,
antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by
breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression
of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal
breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or
sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells
is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture
and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of
airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due
to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant
and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the
tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood
pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon
dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine
in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth
"CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control
How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?
Reference Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and
Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing
norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal
breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6
myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of
hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the
Sick. Table
1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV
(chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions
(34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in
Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of
Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia
How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of
all vital organs
Body oxygen test
How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy
Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical
studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5.
CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko
Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning
hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most
likely to die during early morning hours
Go back to: Learning the Buteyko method by modules
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